Wojtek Borowicz is a community evangelist at Estimote, freelance writer and strong believer in the Internet of Things Internet of Things is the current hip phrase of technology evangelists, geeks and all kinds of clairvoyants. If, according to tech blogs and websites, 2013 was the year of big data, then 2014 certainly is the year of Internet of Things. New projects, big funding rounds, the general hype and excitement are everywhere. And yet, we don’t really get the whole thing right. The general media seem more concerned with new smart thermostats design than how the concept of IoT is changing our...

Chinese internet giant Baidu has expanded its search empire to Brazil after it launched local-language search engine ‘Busca,’ a move that indicates a readiness to increase its intentional presence. NYSE-listed Baidu runs China’s dominance search, but it has long held a focus on expanding globally, as its decision to set up a Singapore-based language technology research center demonstrates. Baidu Busca includes text, image and video search, and links to its Postbar service. It also features a Google autocomplete-style ‘smart searchbox’ which also previews results as you type. The company has inked deals with a range of players who have embedded content right into the site, while one social feature...